20 April, 2014

MUSINGS ON THE LOK SABHA POLLS 2014

I find two strange and concurrent phenomena in the churning leading up to
2014 Lok Sabha elections:

a. Indian polity has decidedly moved towards the right. Hindutva influence is
evident. Consider, for instance, that almost every major politician has felt
obliged to not only perform a puja before filing her/his nomination, but also
to publicize it. For the world’s largest democracy claiming to make strides in
science and technology this trend in the beginning of the 21st century disturbs
me as a rationalist. And should bother the youth.
b. On the other hand, most politicians and political parties – with the
probable exception of the Tamil Nadu - are openly courting Muslims. Secularism
is not in dispute though its definition very much is. Coupled with the fact
that Muslims have been on the receiving end of discrimination and even communal
riots under almost every regime, this is intriguing.

I also see to my utter bewilderment how pathetically some of the tallest of our
scholars, thinkers, activists, anchors, editors, artistes, industrialists,
generals, bureaucrats et al have crumbled before the onslaught of mobocracy. It
is as if they were only waiting for a cue, that one by one, so many of them
spinelessly stooped to appease the emerging power, at the cost of the values
they claimed to honour before.

At another level I am tempted to ask Muslims to ponder how come they landed in
such a pathetic situation that 18 crore of them can be ignored in Indian
polity. That the majority of this country can choose someone the Muslims almost
universally and totally detest, is something Muslim leadership needs to answer,
too. And to the devout Muslims I would pose: how come Bush, Blair and Modi all
survived almost all the battles they were to face after their manifestly
anti-Muslim crusades.

Even today, despite all surveys and indications to the contrary, I – almost
valiantly – hope that either the Congress will lead the next government, or at
least the NDA will fall short of numbers to be compelled to find a more
acceptable candidate by common consensus. Yet, if Modi still assumes the Prime
Ministership of India, and manages to sail through the political turmoil, he
will soon embark on measures designed to gain international acceptability. No
more concerned with the approval of the Indian voter, he will proceed to claim
global recognition. This may well lead him to attempt holding out an olive
branch to the Kashmiri separatists and to Pakistan. To appease the Hindutva he
may force a ‘resolution’ of the Ram Mandir issue and go for its construction.

All in all we are headed towards very uncertain, indeed, unnerving times. May
India as a nation, and Indians as a society, survive unharmed. And may innocent
blood never spill to satisfy personal ambitions of fanatics and cunning
politicians.